The title essay was probably the single most influential article written by Bronislaw Malinowski. This 1992 reprint edition from Waveland Press is most welcome. The ideas in this essay have become so commonplace in anthropology that nobody seems to find it necessary to refer back to their original source in Malinowski. The essay itself is lively and still sounds fresh some three-quarters of a century after it was written. Malinowski is convincing when he points to ways that magic, science, and religion are closely related. After reading his insights, it isn't possible to consider that any one of them should always be given priority over the other two in our ways of thinking about the universe. Read this book and you'll learn some of the reasons why people try to solve their problems by choosing magic, science, or religion according to the specific circumstances in which they find themselves.

This book is full of Andy Lakey's spiritual three dimensional art, featuring mostly his angels. Besides the full color prints, included are personal insights into his journey that led him to creating his art (he was a car salesman before) and various testimonials about the impact of his art. Skeptics might be turned off and discount him as just another new age spiritualist. However, the fact of the matter is, he has had a positive impact on many people and that is what this book and his art is about. His now famous 2000 angel series for the millenium was the impetus for his effect on countless people. The book is very easy to read and often repetitive, hence the minus one star, but the message is clear and his art shines and brightens the hearts and souls of many people. The oversized print is a background to the dazzling visual imagery Lackey employs with his angels. Of particular interest are the various stories of other people who have been touched by his art, most notably the blind, including Ray Charles. His art is collected by many people, including such luminaries as former Presidents Carter and Ford, Ed Asner, Gloria Estefan and Pope John Paul II, amongst others. This is primarily an art book but the related included stories are an additional bonus. This would make a great gift book, especially but not limited to someone who likes art or needs uplifting guidance. The angels and three dimensional art that come in the book can be enjoyed many times over. The stories will astound you.

ANDY'S BOOK WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST ANGEL BOOKS I EVER READ. I ORDERED & CARRY WITH ME EVERY DAY A MINIATURE ANGEL PAINTING PIN THAT ANDY MADE ME. THE PICTURES OF HIS PAINTINGS & ARTWORKS BRING TEARS TO MY EYES & HAVE OPENED MY HEART TO NOT TO ANGELS,BUT MIRACLES,SAINTS ,ETC GOD BLESS ANDY FOR WHAT HE DOES!!LOVE ,MARSHA LAMPERT MBA WANTAGH NY

After being burnt out on intellectual self-help books I was guided by a dear friend to read Andy's well-illustrated book of angels. At first I thought it was doctrinaire, in a dry theological Sunday school way. I was in for a surprise, as the gentle, truly spiritual (as opposed to pious or religious) description of ever-present Angel guides began to take shape. Free of worn-out cliches and aphorisms; it left me with an exhilarating, playful awareness of Angels standing by us in our most everyday activities. A beautiful, sweet and visually trippy book. -J. Alan Rosenstein

This book chronicles the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton and directed by Sir John Gielgud. The author played Guildenstern in the production.

Frank Rich (for 10 years the Drama Critic at the New York Times) called this his favorite book on an actor's perspective on mounting a play.

I agree with Mr. Rich on this one. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was to avoid overdoing my enthusiasm. (I'm worried people will notice that I am the author's son. Shush, don't tell anyone.)

It got rave reviews at the time it came out and has pleased readers for over 30 years. It is both instructive and hilariously funny.

Please request it at book stores, on line and write to Proscenium Publishing requesting another release.

Thank you

Adam Redfield

I can do nothing more than echo the praise of the other reviewers. This very personal account of the rehearsal process and out-of-town tryout of the 1964 Broadway production of "Hamlet" that starred Richard Burton and was directed by John Gielgud is truly fascinating. William Redfield was a superb actor who could also write well, even though there are a handful of passages that perhaps should have been edited out.

I don't know of any book that gives you a better feeling of what it's like to be in rehearsal and trying to piece together a performance as everyone around you is trying to do the same. Redfield's account of a group of major actors--apart from Redfield and Burton, the cast included Alfred Drake, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Herlie, John Cullum, George Rose, George Voskovec, and Barnard Hughes--working under a director of undoubted genius who is somehow not really helping anyone much definitely makes you feel what it must have been like to be part of that.

If you're an actor, a director, or just love theatre, you will probably find this book fascinating.

I read this book in the La Salle College library in 1965 or 1966, when I was supposed to be in class. I made the right choice. The memory of the description of Richard Burton being booed still brings a smile to my face. Mr. Redfield's witt is a source of constant pleasure throughout. I fondly remember William Redfield as a superbly entertaining guest on many talk shows, during that golden era of talk shows that was the 1960's.

CHAN KOM is considered a classic study and no doubt it is. It is a most comprehensive, painstaking study of a Mayan village in Yucatan. However, the research for it was done in 1930-31, which makes it now over 70 years old. Mexico has changed drastically in that time, just like every other country on earth. How much Chan Kom today resembles that long ago village (if indeed Chan Kom even exists today) I cannot say. Point #1---you can't read CHAN KOM to learn about modern Mexican society. Point #2---if you are planning to visit Yucatan, that heartland of ancient Mayan culture, you can use the book as a source of information only tangentially. Robert Redfield, the chief ethnographer, became one of the giants of American anthropology at the University of Chicago, which was at the center of the field in the 1930s. This pioneering work of his established a road which was travelled by numerous ethnographers after him. CHAN KOM, then, represents a style of anthropological research and writing that was once cutting-edge, but is now antique. Redfield's approach was to garner information on every aspect of daily life, from bee keeping to the beliefs about eclipses. Economy, tools and techniques, family, religion, ritual, world view-all this and more are discussed in astonishingly painstaking detail. There is even a long 'life history' by the most literate man in the village. Yet, for a reader not investigating the 20th century evolution of Maya culture, the mass of information is far too great. Nobody could absorb this much unless they were familiar with today's Yucatan or unless they were researching the period. There are a number of good maps and many extremely poor photographs. Yes, CHAN KOM is a classic, but for today's audience, its appeal is limited to specialists or those interested in the history of anthropology itself. It must be considered a work of social history, to be mined by scholars as background material on the modern Yucatan.

Redfield wrote a "sequel" about Chan Kom village later on, called "The Village That Chose Progress". I have not read it. Readers are advised to check that out, bearing in mind that it too may be somewhat dated.

I had to do a report for an english class...i needed 3 sources and i only had 2. I got this book and it provided all the information i needed...religion, clothing, medicine, weapons and many other things unique to the Yaquis. i only give it 3 stars because i hate doing reports :)